When Hollyhocks Grow Among Roses
by Wildwolf
Summary: Seto/Ryou fluff! Ryou gets some stuff for his birthday from a secret admirer, but it isn't really too secret... it's a short and fast-paced thing... >.
1. Chapter 1

**When Hollyhocks Grow Among Roses**

Rating: PG

Genre: ((Fluff!!)) Romance

Pairing(s): Seto/Ryou, mentioned Yami/Yuugi

Warnings: Shounen ai

Plot: Ryou receives a bouquet of flowers for his birthday from a 'secret admirer' who isn't all too secret, and Seto learns the meaning of forgiveness.

Notes: Hm, this idea came from my reading a book on symbols and from the fact that my little brother is doing better than me on Duelist of the Roses ((Which is MY game cause I bought it!)). I don't know how that came up, but he is doing better, even if it is supposed to be a little easier if you join Lancaster. B-but Seto's on York's side! I had to be York! **runs off crying** And he's so~ polite!

**Chapter 1-**

Ryou sighed, tucking his head into his arm as a duel finished in first period. Jounouchi versus Anzu, and Jounouchi had won with flying colors- for once.

"Yeah! Who's good?" He asked no one, happy for his win.

Ryou ignored this- par usual- and stared out of the window, wishing the day would go by sooner. It was Friday. Tomorrow was Saturday. Tomorrow was his birthday and they had school.

((And the author would like to make note that they have school on Saturdays in Japan. Arigato.))

"Bakura-kun?" Yuugi asked, the first to notice his friend's discomfort.

"Un?"

"Daijoubu ka?"

"Hai." He yawned.

"Tomorrow's your birthday, isn't it?"

Ryou nodded, then smiled suddenly. "I'm probably going to spend it sleeping. High school takes a lot out of you, doesn't it?"

Yuugi laughed. "Un."

"Hey Anzu-chan! I know someone else who has a thing for you!" Jounouchi said in a loud voice.

"Another one?" Asked Honda blandly.

"What?!" Anzu glared at the two, ready to release female teenage thrashings upon them.

"We should do a show on Anzu-chan's love life and send it in to some station. We can title it, 'Romance Relationships of a High School Girl'!"

"Like hell you will." She bopped Jounouchi upside the head. "Why do you always pick on me?"

"Well," Jounouchi started listing on his fingers, "Yuugi-kun's relationship consists of him and a 3,000-year-old spirit who would kill us if we even dared. It would be no fun to torture ourselves. And Bakura-kun-"

"-Has no love life to speak of." Ryou mumbled, shifting his head to cover more light from his face.

"Yeah! So therefore, you're the only one left." Honda finished, nodding.

It was at this time that Kaiba Seto poked Ryou on the back with the eraser end of his pencil.

"Un?"

"Bakura-kun, may I please see your assignment book? I missed a few assignments."

"Hai." Ryou reached into his binder and pulled it out, already open to that week. The CEO had missed some classes due to a meeting, Ryou guessed. He handed his planner to him and turned back around.

"Arigato." There were some scribbling sounds and a few pauses before it was handed back. "Arigato gozaimasu."

"You're welcome." Back to lying the head down like an idiot.

Ryou heard Jounouchi's voice say something before Honda said loudly enough for only their group to hear, "You're kidding! Him?!"

Ryou picked up his head to look over at them, only to see that all four of them were looking at him. "Hm?"

Jounouchi was the first to speak. "And our new topic is, 'The Secret Love of Bakura Ryou'."

"What?" Ryou asked, shaking his head in a sleepy way and hoping that he had just misheard the blond.

"Kaiba-kun. He has something for you." They crowded around Ryou's desk, the white-haired boy now feeling a little claustrophobic.

"What?" Ryou repeated, now hoping he had drifted off.

"He just made it so obvious!" Jounouchi continued in a whispered voice. "He so checked you out when he asked for that planner."

"Jounouchi-kun, you must be mistaken."

"No, no. I admit, the fact that it's Kaiba-kun is seriously sick, and freaky, but still! And don't hit me with that 'you see what you want to see' crap, cause I didn't wanna see this!"

Ryou just shook his head. "Jounouchi-kun, don't worry. He doesn't like me, I don't like him, end of story. You can stop worrying about anything and let me sleep-" Insert the bell ringing. "-oh never mind."

Last period, time was ticking down. Ryou closed his textbook and sighed, gathering his things. It would be the usual mad dash to the locker to get the backpack and such.

Bell rings. Yep, dash from the room and into the hallway. Find locker, ah-hah! Turn combo and lift latch... there. Books, random papers falling out, the usual...

Wait.

Envelope?

Ryou stood there in the middle of the hallway, people bustling and pushing around him. Finally, he gathered his senses enough to open it. A card appeared before him. Taking it out, he peered at it in a curious way.

Whoever wrote it certainly wasn't a poet. It was a simple rhyming message, written as such: "It may be early, but I couldn't wait to give this to you. Just remember every time the skies are gray, that I love you. Happy Birthday."

"Whoa. Whoa! This isn't happening." He dropped his books down and still stared.

"Hey, watch it!" Someone yelled at him, prompting him to continue picking up his books and putting them into his bag.

Starting his walk home, he pondered very long, and very hard. Who would like him?

_I have a secret admirer._ The idea scared him a little, but also made him flush and giggle. But male or female? Most likely male, due to the handwriting and horrible poetry capabilities. Plus, in his experience, the females who liked him never had a thing for subtlety, they just ran up and announced it. _So, a guy, probably shy. And obviously he knows me. The list would be Yuugi and Yami no Yuugi (Mark them out, they're perfectly happy), Jounouchi and Honda (Highly doubt it), Otogi (Hm, maybe? Still, doubt it), and Kaiba (Hah! No matter what Jounouchi-kun said, no!)._

Screw homework, this was so much more important!

He sat at his desk, making a list of who the possibilities were (Consisting of Jounouchi, Honda, Otogi, and yes... Kaiba) and listed reasons why it could be them and why not.

He guessed for a few seconds that maybe his admirer wanted him to wait to see who it was, but he couldn't!

_Baka yadonushi, completely oblivious._

"What? Don't tell me you know." Ryou asked, to anyone from the outside to himself.

_Baka._ Yami no Bakura repeated, a little pouty from the talk-back.

The next day, and no closer to finding who his admirer was, Ryou went back to school.

_Should I tell everyone about it? No, cause if it isn't either Jounouchi-kun or Honda-kun, they'll tease me about it! And I know who they'll say, too._

_Ok, I do have to admit to myself that each of the possibilities had their own physical qualities and other qualities that are good about them. Jounouchi-kun's like... like a puppy and a really great and loyal friend. Honda-kun's kinda hot and is good for self-esteem. Otogi-kun is really exotic and, well, he's Otogi-kun, what more is there to say?_ He sweat-dropped as he sat himself down at his desk. Yuugi-tachi had yet to arrive.

_And now, Kaiba-kun. What about Kaiba-kun? Mm, he's pretty hot, I suppose. More sexy than anything... not that that's bad. But his personality? I don't know too much about him besides what Yuugi-tachi have voiced- that he's a jerk. But who knows? But still, it's the thought... please not him._

_Don't lie to yourself, yadonushi._

_Huh?_

_You at least consider him, I know._

_Since when do you help me on my love life?_

_Don't talk back to me, you'll live longer._

He decided not to talk to his other self for a while now...

By the end of school, Ryou still had no earthly idea who would have given him the card. It was still one of those four people, but Jounouchi and Honda had acted perfectly normal. So Ryou mentally put them in the 'most likely not, but still possibly' pile.

Opening his door, he stopped. There weren't any bushes near his door, let alone flowering ones. So, what?

"Oh my!" He looked at the flowers in the vase and package that were sitting next to his door. "Oh my..." He smiled as he shook his head to pick them up and carry them inside.

Setting them on the table, he looked them over. Roses, baby's breath, and hollyhocks.

This excluded Honda and Jounouchi from the list- neither had the finesse to get such a delicate gift. That left Otogi and Kaiba- Ryou didn't know if he liked this fact or not.

"Roses represent passion and love while baby's breath is gentleness and everlasting love and hollyhocks... forgiveness." Fervently his hands searched the slim, thorn-less stems for a card. Finding there was not one, he gently started to open the package.

There was a plush stuffed animal of a white tiger in it along with a card. Taking out both, he set the stuffed animal down and opened the card to read it.

"My love is given to you in showers of roses and sealed with wisps of baby's breath. But for crimes I did in the past commit, hollyhocks profess a want of forgiveness from the angel that holds my heart in his hands... oh..." He held the card close to him. "So, it is him."

In Japan, hollyhocks were a sort of holy plant, very expensive and hard to find. Only one person would be able to find and afford them.

"It has to be Kaiba-kun. There's no other explanation. Oh my... it is him." He shook his had with a sad smile on his face. "Jounouchi-kun tried to tell me, and he was right. Why was I so blind?"

He sighed. "Should I call him? Maybe... or else I can try at school tomorrow. No, wait, school on Monday. Oh, that seems so long away. Tomorrow on its own seems so long from now. I-I think I should call someone."

He picked up the phone and dialed some number. He knew it was a number he knew, but didn't know whose.

"Moshi moshi?" Jounouchi asked. Ryou didn't know if that was good or bad, but it happened.

"Jounouchi-kun?"

"Ah, Bakura-kun! What's up?"

"Ano... I-I think you were right."

Jounouchi cocked his head to the side. "About what?"

"Kaiba-kun." Ryou said in a whisper, holding the phone close to his mouth.

The other side of the line was quiet. "You think so... how, may I ask?"

Ryou told him about the gifts and everything, about the symbolism and how the flowers had in fact came from a renowned florist.

"Hm, it does sound like him. But Bakura-kun, despite the fact that I hate Kaiba-kun with my guts, I need to know: how do you feel about all of this? There is an answer that I would prefer, granted, but how do you feel inside?"

"Hm, straight to the point." Ryou sighed. "I feel flattered, I will admit that. But otherwise, I'm not sure. I mean, I hardly know him, even if he is closer than when we first met. It just comes as a shock, so suddenly. I don't know what I'm feeling inside, and it hurts that I don't know. It's confusing."

"Why don't you call him and explain it to him?"

"Because!" Ryou yelled, flinching at his own voice. "Because I'm just confused, and what if it isn't him? Unless it says directly, there is the possibility."

"Bakura-kun... as I said, I hate Kaiba-kun. But still... do what you think is best."

"Don't try wrapping up this counseling session. I still have ranting to do."

"Fine... let me sit down." There was verbal silence as Jounouchi sat on his couch. "Now, start talking."

He vented. Ryou vented for a good hour before a beeping sounded.

"Gomen Bakura-kun, my cell's outta batteries."

"Ack!" Ryou said, dismayed. "Well, I'll talk to you later. Bye!"

"Bye."

They hung up.

Ryou set the phone on his night stand, seeing as he had moved up to his room during his counseling session. Sighing, he pulled out some cards. The Mirror met him as he took them out of their silken bag. (1)

"Ok..." He shuffled them and split them into four piles with his left hand before putting them back in one pile in a random order. So what if he had Cardcaptor Sakura Clow Cards? They did good tarot readings and were fairly accurate! "Cards made by Clow, answer my questions." He imitated the shoujo manga before lying three cards out face up. His question had been thought, rather than said aloud.

"The Shot- Analytical wronging in the past. The Libra- A present decision to be made. You got that right! And lastly... the Erase- forgetting all that went on before. Last card is..." He drew one more card out of the deck. "Oops!" Another came up with it and slipped out. "Anyways!" He held the one he had intended to draw up. "The Create- a new reality created either in reality or in one's own mind."

As he put them away, he remembered a rule or tarot reading: if you drop a card, include it in your reading. So as he shuffled the other cards away, he picked it up and stared in amusement: the Glow. The card that represents romance.

"Ok, one more."

He reshuffled them and laid out three more with a new question in mind. "Erase once again- forgetting the past. The Dark- power and yet overshadowed. The Fly- the want to rise to new heights- so to speak- and do something out of the ordinary." Overall an adventurous and ambitious person. Yeah... He drew the final card, this time only one. "Twin. You're trying to tell me something, aren't you?" Ryou smiled. The Twin was used when two were fated to meet and were, for lack of better words, twin souls.

_How will my relationship with Kaiba Seto-kun go?_

_Who is Seto, deep inside?_

Un- Yes (Yet another way of doing so...)

Daijoubu ka?- Are you alright?

Yadonushi- a (non-affectionate) nickname for Ryou that Bakura gave him that means, basically, king's property.

Moshi moshi- a traditional greeting for when one picks up the phone.

(1)- Cardcaptor Sakura, a shoujo manga by CLAMP. I have the Clow Card merchandise and since tou-san threw away my tarot cards... I use the $10.99 merchandise! And keep them in a Malaysian bag instead of their plastic book that they came in.

This shall be a short ficcie! Gomen, but my time has been with homework and Dragon Knights fic lately...

V-chan:  **cracks a whip and glares**

Chloe: No! Armand! Don't hurt my Louis! **huggles Chibi**

Chibi: -_-'...

Amby: And Marius is just here for the heck of it.

Wildwolf: But we gotta do well in school, or no AKon~! If any of you are going to AKon the last weekend of May/first weekend of June in Dallas, tell me~! @_@


	2. Chapter 2

**When Hollyhocks Grow Among Roses**

V-chan! If you read this, gomen nasai about the DK fic! I'm trying~! T_T

Anime-Child: Person-eating house shoes?! **starts typing furiously** I love chatting with you~! -^_^-

Ex-Angel, Dice, and Bakura: It gives Yami no Bakura an ego... Ryou is his property, and the 'king's property', so he is the king. And also, he calls himself ore-sama, which is saying 'I' as if you were higher than others. Also, the king of thieves. Yeah, he's a lil egotistical bishounen, ain't he?

Yo: Am continuing~! **and continues typing**

My Name is Cheese: Yes, very out of character. But... the mind wanders... and I'm not exactly other certain authors that are about 50x better than me. **gets whapped by signs that say 'have self-esteem!'**

Redrose2310: You ask, I/we deliver! -^_^-

Achika-chan: The meaning of the cards varies with the person- it's just how you interpret them. And if you start reading, don't ignore them for long amounts of time. They gain personalities and pull pranks... -_-

Fani90: I hope to keep on, neh?

Erfaciel: Hee hee... I love portraying Seto as a hopeless romantic... he seems like he could be poetic if he tried...

Unintentional Nightmare: I know... almost no one writes them... T_T But there are wonderful ones out there and I thank all of the writers of S/R.

Evee: Hee... S/R is cute... **eyes narrow** In Love with An Angel. Want updates... moo.

Millennium Elf: Am updating~! ^^

I will note that I don't know where this is going. So... blah. Moo. Caw, caw! **gets whapped** Camels go moo and Shadii knows it! **gets whapped** My spelling of Shadii fluxuates often...

**Chapter 2-**

It was Sunday and Ryou's heart was racing. He'd say something tomorrow- only hint at his conclusions, lest he make himself look like a fool. Yes, everything would be perfect.

Over the past night, he had decided that there was the possibility that it wasn't whom he thought it was, and to not really think or hope it was. The plan for tomorrow was to subtly interrogate a potential. If no, then it would be Otogi-kun's turn.

Standing, he dusted off any dirt that may have accumulated on his pants from his sit at the park bench. On the way home, maybe he'd stop to rent a video or two... to try and get his mind off of things.

Hm, that was a pretty flower garden. Yes, his mind was so perfectly at ease that he could stop and smell the roses, for these were in fact roses in the flower garden. And other little pretty random flowers... like hollyhocks... was someone trying to tell him something? If so, well, there'd have to be physical backing because... well, he didn't feel like thinking right now!

"Bakura-kun?" A voice asked behind him.

Ryou wheeled around and, seeing he was staring into the person's chest, tilted his head upwards to stare into the blue eyes of Kaiba Seto.

"K-Kaiba-kun!" Ryou flushed. "K-konnichiwa."

"Konnichiwa." He answered wit the utter confidence that made his seem so egotistical.

_Who is he to be so confident?!_ Ryou thought. _I'm standing here, nervous as hell! And there he is, acting like he's about to do the easiest thing of his life!_

_Baka yadonushi._ Yami no Bakura drawled from the Sennen Ring.

"Bakura-kun?" Seto asked.

"H-hai?"

He looked at his watch. "Would you like to go for lunch?"

Ryou would have replied that he had already had some nice ramen from a cart, but that would have been terribly rude... and a lie. And his mouth seemed to be terribly against reason at this point of time. "Hai. Arigato..."

_Please nowhere really formal! Please nowhere that I would have to sell all of my possessions just to have an appetizer!_

Luck held as they walked to the street, where Seto opened up his driver's seat and got in, waiting for Ryou to do the same. Now Ryou was standing there, wondering two things: how to open the door without possibly chipping the paint, and why Kaiba-kun had gone to the park for what seemed like the purpose of picking him up. There must have been other reasons. Maybe he stopped to be safe while making a phone call! Yeah!

Denial, yadonushi.

He didn't comment, lest a certain Ring spirit decide to put mortal harm on his body.

They passed through the fancier part of town slowly until gaining way into the more casual suburbia of Domino.

"So, why are you inviting me to lunch?" Ryou broke the silence, ripping his eyes away from the not-so-interesting scenery outside. The fancy car was getting stares from the passersby, and he felt that he too was an object of their staring.

Seto shrugged before sighing. "Because... I don't know." His eyes darted to the floor in the most out-of-character way. _What!?_ There was a rose petal on the floor- it must have fallen off... he quickly hid it under his shoe and dragged it under the chair. Ryou looked at him strangely.

"Well, thank you for the invitation."

"You've already thanked me." Seto replied.

"Oh!" Ryou answered, a little flustered. "Gomen..."

Seto was silent. "It's alright."

There was another bout of silence until they stopped in front of a casual restaurant, but still one of those that are pretty pricey for average-income people. Seto parked and got out, waiting for Ryou to join him before continuing on his way.

They got a seat pretty quickly (Ryou thought he saw Seto pay of the waiter...), and both sat down and ordered their drinks. Ryou had his iced tea while Seto had coffee.

_What to order?_ Ryou started thinking absentmindedly. _Something cheap... after finding out I was gay, tou-san always said to order something cheaper than the other person when going on a... He stopped suddenly, flushing, not wanting to finish that sentence. __Date?__ Wait a second, no. This is not a date, he just asked me to lunch as a friend. So what if the pretty flowers were from him, he hasn't said anything about them, so let us just assume. He's just a-_

_He's just a friend? We hardly know each other, so how does this constitute anything? I feel as if I'm just one of his business partners. Oh Kami-sama don't let this be like any fanfiction on the Internet._

He took another careful sip of his tea, as if the cup was threatening to bite him or something. Then again, you never know. Stranger things have happened... including dying a couple of times... which is never fun, as one would guess.

"Kaiba-kun, is there anything you wanted to talk to me about?" Ryou asked suddenly, after their orders had been taken.

Seto was silent, as if ignoring the question. Finally, he spoke. "Yesterday was your birthday, was it not?"

"Yes..."

"So why not take you out to lunch?"

The directness of the answer startled Ryou. He tried forming coherent and, if possible, witty replies, but all he got was along the lines of: "Oh... well, why? Why treat me to this when you don't treat Yuugi-tachi half as nice?"

Seto gave a small shrug. "You seemed lonely." He answered, looking straight into his eyes.

Ryou's face reddened. Now was one of those times he wanted to hide under a rock, but it was kind of hard to do when there were no rocks around.

_I need some way to find out if he sent those flowers! How? I can't ask directly, so... how to handle this?_

"Hey, do you know of any really good florists in the city?"

"Hm? Why?" Seto raised an eyebrow.

Ryou sat back a little. "Well, someone sent me some very beautiful flowers for my birthday, and I want to find out who."

"Did it not come with a signed name?"

"No." Ryou shook his head.

_Either he's clueless for the first time ever or just pretending. I'm hoping for either answer in a different way... why is this so confusing?! Maybe I've just gone insane._

"Well..." Seto thought for a moment. "I don't usually mess with flowers, so I have no information for you."

Ryou swore he felt an eyebrow twitch. "Kaiba-kun." He stood up, forcing the chair back. "Did you send the flowers?"

Seto's eyes were wide as that question left his lips. Slowly, he lowered his head slightly, though still held it proudly, and nodded slightly. "Yes."

Ryou felt his heat drop. Nervousness started to come up in his stomach. "Well, I... I don't feel the same. I-I need to go now." He started walking, and no one tried to stop him.

Seto's eyes lifted to watch the walking form, not trying to stop him. That would only make things worse. "Bakura Ryou... aishiteru."

Ryou hugged his legs up to his chest when he got home, lying on his side and snuggling into his sheets.

He hadn't wanted to react like that... he didn't want to have run out like he did. But now he didn't know what to feel.

_Kami-sama, I hate him! How could he toss this onto me? And why, last night, did I actually accept it for those few moments? I don't love him, too bad if he loves me._

Ryou raised his head to see the little stuffed white tiger at the foot of his bed. Seto's tiger.

Sitting up, he took the tiger in his hands. He both felt the urge to scream at it and throw it against the wall and to cuddle it while explaining all of his problems to it. He really did want to throw it against the wall, but what had the tiger done to him? It was the one who gave him the tiger that was at fault, not the poor stuffed animal. So in the end, he curled back up, cuddling the soft form to his chest and crying.

"What did I do?" He asked the tiger that had no name. "If only you could talk, then you could tell me what the hell he was thinking." The tiger just stared up at him, as if answering. In a way, he was answering as plush dolls do.

Often before, Ryou had wondered what it was about stuffed animals that made children and adults confess all of their life's problems to them. But now he knew. Stuffed animals looked life-like enough for one to relate to, and their eyes always held contact with yours, as if they were quietly paying attention and waiting for you to cry on their... shoulders? And best of all, their replies were whatever your subconscious wanted.

Do stuffed animals ever get tired of listening to a person's problems?

Ryou let his tears fall on the tiger's head, soaking the soft fur. If only he had this animal when his sister died... and when his parents got their divorce. And when Yami no Bakura first came and all of Ryou's friends started avoiding him. Ryou had thought he had gone insane because he couldn't remember anything that happened, and suddenly, someone he cared for would be in a coma. That was a summary of his life right there, a descent into insanity through pain with no one's shoulders to cry on.

'I'll listen to you.' The tiger seemed to say. 'Tell me everything. I won't judge you.'

All the pain seemed to lift away as he told his life's story to the silent listening form in his arms.

Ryou went with his story like a five-year-old would, but it was just longer. He told his tiger of Amane, his deceased little sister, of the time when he first got the Ring and swore he was insane, of how he was alone almost all his life. He spoke of his parent's divorce and how he had almost never seen his mother since. His father as well, seeing as he was always gone on trips. And he talked of all the things that happened with Yuugi-tachi, while mentioning that he wasn't necessarily unhappy with all of that, for he finally had friends who could stand and deal with his... problem. Heck, one had nearly the same problem as he did!

Finally, there was the problem that started two days ago with the cards and flowers, and the tiger itself.

"That's the problem with Kaiba-kun, he's a jerk and an idiot when it comes it common sense. He thinks he can just come and say whatever he wants to me and expect me to accept. What if I don't want to? Ok, I will admit I pushed him, and if I hadn't, it probably would have ended better. What why did he give the flowers to me in the first place? I know I wouldn't have you if he didn't but still! I have enough stress as it is, he's just adding to it. I can't believe I tried to make myself love him, the insensitive... jerk!"

_Maybe he's trying to relieve you from the stress._ A voice said softly.

"Huh? Well, he sure had a funny way of showing affection." Ryou mumbled, still talking to the tiger.

The tiger seemed to roll his eyes.

"Would you like a name?" Ryou asked the tiger finally. The tiger seemed very indifferent. "Well, what about Shuuichi? I like that name, do you?" The tiger seemed to nod. "Shuuichi it is." Ryou smiled and closed his eyes, praying for impossible restful sleep. Random thoughts started running through his head.

_You smell... you smell like something familiar... no, someone? Maybe? Seto._

The chapter is short and it sucks! Mwahah!

Notes:

Ryou had a sister named Amane who died.

Ryou's parents divorced.

All this info was fed to me from PM-chan. Now I must both get stared on chapter 3, write the last chapter of Doragon no Kokoro to FINALLY finish up the trilogy, and write on my Dragon Knights fic. Ja ne!

Wildwolf: Just know that we're not dead~!


End file.
